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“Grexit” is a terrific word because it’s both obvious and terse. It was apparently coined in February 2012 by Ebrahim Rahbari, an economist for Citigroup, and the number of its recorded usages soon outpaced those of an alternative term, “drachmageddon.”

We need to understand that those who are more vulnerable to the appeal of extreme or marginal groups are often going through a transition period, or they need an authority figure to tell them what to do.

COPENHAGEN Shots were fired Saturday at a cafe in Copenhagen as it hosted a freedom of speech event organized by Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who has faced numerous threats for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad. Danish police say one man was killed. In a statement, Danish police say they are looking for the perpetrators who drove […]

Whom is ISIS fighting? Is it the United States? Is it Europe, Canada, Australia, Jordan, Japan, Egypt? Answer: all of the above. ISIS has declared war on the rest of the world. It has also killed many more Muslims than non-Muslims. Can ISIS really take on the world and expect to win? I don't think so.

“Es un país complicado,” Argentinians will admit about their country, and indeed it can be very difficult to make sense of the assassination of prosecutor Alberto Nisman in January, possibly at the hands of the Intelligence Service.

Montreal has had a bad case of frostbite this winter. The kind of frigid temperatures that leave you wondering if you should wear a tuque to bed, or phone in sick with wind-chill poisoning. But the big chill of 2015 is good news in Lachine, where organizers of the fifth annual Montreal Pond Hockey Festival […]

I initially pointed out that the three terrorists in fact also killed innocent Muslim and black people. I now feel so ashamed that it even crossed my mind: We should never resort to that kind of justification. Does killing “members of their own socio-cultural groups” make them more criminal? Does that really make a difference?

Saudi Arabia has again delayed a planned flogging of a blogger, according to a report from Amnesty International. The Twitter account of the organization’s press office said Raif Badawi was spared a flogging Friday for reasons not yet known. BREAKING @raif_badawi not flogged for 3rd consecutive week, confirms @amnestyonline Saudi Arabia team. Reasons why not known.#FreeRaif […]

Hello and welcome to The Story So Far for Wednesday, Feb. 4. Click on the audio player below to hear the rundown on some of the stories we’re following for you today. And remember, you can listen to all of our podcasts here and follow us on Facebook for the latest from montrealgazette.com.

As a secular society, we have to denounce radicalization. The way to go about this is through a counter-ideology, one that helps people to create their own meaningful life and sense of worth, in line with humanistic and liberal values. Fighting terrorism also means promoting better ideas than those who seek to extinguish freedom and life.

A Montreal Gazette editorial ("Preserve memories of horror," Jan. 28) rightly called for compulsory teaching about the Holocaust in Quebec high schools. Yet, many Holocaust educators struggle with transmitting its universal lessons. That’s partly because in demographically pluralistic societies in North America and Europe, far too many people are told by opinion leaders that the acceptance of cultural and religious difference is a problem for social cohesion.

Hello and welcome to The Story So Far for Thursday, Jan. 29. Click on the audio player below to hear the rundown on some of the stories we’re following for you today. And remember, you can listen to all of our podcasts here and follow us on Facebook for the latest from montrealgazette.com.

If we define austerity very narrowly, as measures taken to reduce budget deficits, then Europe has undergone some austerity in recent years. But if we define it more properly as policies bringing about a reduction in the size of bloated government, then these policies cannot be held responsible for the ongoing crisis in Europe, because they were never really applied.